His Job On Opening Day: See And Be Seen

MIDDLEFIELD — Opening day would be a day for fish and fishermen. Bill Myers had already handled the poachers. He would deal with other violators in the days ahead.

"If you're looking for arrests on opening day, it's just not going to happen," said Myers, one of the DEP conservation officers charged with protecting the state's fisheries.

"High visibility is the way to go opening day."

Myers made no arrests Saturday, but he checked dozens of fishermen for valid licenses. He issued no warnings on the first day of the trout season, but he counted dozens of five-fish limits.

Aside from the spot-checks, Myers joked with adults and he chatted with children. There weren't many fishermen in Middletown, Deep River or any town in between who didn't know he was there.

A conservation officer in central Connecticut for six years, Myers learned long ago how violators of state regulations usually operate in his seven-town patrol area. Poachers try to fish illegally before the season opens. Others try to fish without licenses after the excitement of opening day passes.

"Most of the time, the guy without a license won't go out opening day," Myers said. "Today I could check 60 people in a row and every one of them would have licenses.

"In three weeks, after the crowds die down, one in every 10 fishermen won't have one."

That's when Myers stops talking and starts issuing citations.

One of his biggest allies Saturday was peer pressure from other fishermen. "Today, people police themselves," Myers said.

"If a guy goes to his car with a stringer of five fish and comes back and starts fishing again, someone is going to say something. More and more, the public becomes our eyes and ears."

Myers had two other factors on his side before the fishing season officially started.

"Daylight-saving [time] was a savior," he said. "It helped us out incredibly. In past years, the temptation to fish at first light was tremendous. A lot of fishermen couldn't resist and started early."

With Eastern Daylight Time postponing first light Saturday, it

was dark until the sun rose at 6:06 a.m. -- six minutes after fishing season began.

Myers said the miserable spring weather also made his job easier.

"With the snow, the cold and the wind, there wasn't nearly the preseason [poaching] activity we've seen in other years," he said.

Myers made nine arrests before the season opened. Other years, he's made two and three times that.

The poaching started March 1, the day stocking started for the 25,000 trout distributed in the waters under Myers' control.

"The [DEP hatchery] truck driver is responsible for the condition of the fish when they leave the hatchery," Myers said. "At the stocking location, the conservation officer's responsibility is how and where the fish are put in the water."

For example, Myers directed the distribution of about 3,000 hatchery trout in the Coginchaug River between Middlefield and Durham.

"First you look for access areas open to the public," he said. "You don't put fish in posted property where anglers aren't allowed to fish."

Then he looked for conditions that would be suitable for the trout: deep holes, good habitat, sunken logs or brush that would provide food and cover to help the fish survive.

"Lastly," Myers said, "you look for a spot where the tank truck can get close to the stream. If you carry the fish too far by hand, the fish get stressed out and die.

"Ideally, you want to place trout in the areas where the most people have access, as well as upper reaches of streams so all the fish aren't hauled out opening day."

The moment the trout hit the water, it was Myers' task to protect the fish until the season opened.

"We have a real problem with poaching in streams," Myers said. "As soon as the truck leaves, we have an ultimate sense of responsibility to protect the fish for the legitimate fisherman."

At the time most state waters are closed to fishing during stocking, poachers roam the woods. "We sometimes joke that the closed season for trout fishermen is the special season for poachers," Myers said.

Over the years, Myers has had his share of foot pursuits with poachers. He's caught and even tackled some.

"We call them Great Horned Owls," he said. "They stand in a stream and their head is always moving ... this way and that way, just like an owl, always looking to see if we're around."

Late Friday night, Myers visited many of his stocked streams to make certain nobody was fishing early. Saturday at 4 a.m., he made a seven-town sweep.

"Saw a lot of lookers," Myers said. "That's all ... they were just looking. People just love to look at the trout in the water, maybe planning where they'll go." Minutes after the season opened, Myers started his route again. He checked teenagers for licenses at Wadsworth Falls State Park. He walked the banks of the Coginchaug River. Then he wondered if someone had hooked the huge breeder trout he stocked in Pistol Shop Pond in Middlefield.

"It had to weigh more than 3 pounds," Myers said. "I've never seen a breeder caught. I'd love to see a little kid catch one of those fish. What a treat."

Then he watched people fish from boats and canoes at Higganum

Reservoir in Haddam. Next weekend, when crowds are smaller, Myers will launch his own boat and check fishermen for boat registrations and life vests, not only fishing licenses and creel limits.

Later, Myers strolled the shores of Cedar Lake and Pataconk Lake in Chester, where he lives.

"It's nice to see the kids," Myers said. "It's nice to see fathers spending the day with their kids.